KEY POINTS:
HOBART - A wretched nine-week tour ended in familiar fashion for New Zealand's cricketers as they handed over the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy to Australia with barely a fight here today.
Set 283 to square the series and retain the trophy, New Zealand were shot out for 168 in just 34 overs to crumble to a 114-run defeat in the series finale at a sun-drenched Bellerive Oval.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting anchored the home innings of 282 for six with a dominant, unbeaten 134 before an adoring home crowd.
The most disappointing aspect was the manner of most New Zealand dismissals with the trophy they won in February still on the line with the series scoreline at 0-1 heading into today's decider.
Poor shot selection against a far from devastating Australian attack on a slow pitch was the common theme in a batting lineup badly missing the experience of Stephen Fleming and Craig McMillan, both retired from one-day cricket.
Scott Styris was the only New Zealand batsman to hold his head up, blazing 75 off 79 balls, including nine fours and two sixes when the match was all but over.
The defeat ensured a sombre flight to Auckland tomorrow for a fresh start in the upcoming home series against Bangladesh following a brutal introduction for Daniel Vettori as captain on the tour of South Africa and Australia.
His team only won one international match, the second one-dayer in Port Elizabeth last month.
Along the way there were two heavy test defeats and a one-day series loss in South Africa, and comprehensive defeats in all their matches against the world champion Australians.
Today's runchase was all but over inside the 20-over mark when New Zealand slumped to 72 for five with their big hope Jacob Oram caught for two on the boundary by a tumbling Brett Lee.
Australian paceman Lee began the collapse, removing openers Brendon McCullum for six and Jamie How for two, both caught behind by Brad Haddin off wide deliveries that should have been dispatched to the boundary.
Mathew Sinclair, in for the axed Lou Vincent, was trapped in front by medium pacer James Hopes' first ball; Ross Taylor swiped across the line and was trapped in front by Shaun Tait; then Oram picked out Lee at deep square leg.
New Zealand lost five wickets for 45, to be 88 for seven, before some late Styris fireworks.
Earlier, an odd selection choice and another Ponting special boosted the home total after a promising start by the New Zealand bowlers.
Ponting plundered his 25th one-day international century and the sixth against New Zealand, extending his remarkable run to four centuries and a 66 in his last five innings against them.
He faced 133 balls and hit 10 fours and two sixes.
Paceman Mark Gillespie appeared a strange selection choice ahead of Chris Martin, who had his nose in front before Sunday's washout in the second match in Sydney.
Having conceded 72 runs in the first match in Adelaide, Gillespie took one for 68 off eight overs today as Ponting and Andrew Symonds took charge in a fourth-wicket stand of 114 off 118 balls.
To add to the pain, Gillespie was cracked a painful blow in the shin while bowling, which forced him to bat with a runner.
Oram was the bowling star in an excellent eight-over spell of two for 18 to reduce Australia to 87 for three in the 20th over.
He ended with two for 34 off 10, with the key wickets of Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey.
Vettori opted to bowl first after heavy morning rain, and the pitch proved slow and two-paced.
New Zealand chose to play two spinners but neither took a wicket, Vettori conceding 42 runs off 10 overs and Jeetan Patel 58 off eight.
SCOREBOARD
Australia
M Hayden c Mills b Oram 29
M Clarke c and b Gillespie 7
R Ponting not out 134
M Hussey c How b Oram 9
A Symonds lbw b Mills 52
B Haddin run out 26
J Hopes run out 20
B Lee not out 0
Extras (3lb, 2w) 5
Total (for 6 wkts, 50 overs) 282
Fall: 16 (Clarke), 56 (Hayden), 87 (Hussey), 201 (Symonds), 246 (Haddin), 280 (Hopes).
Bowling: K Mills 10-0-59-1, M Gillespie 8-0-68-1, J Oram 10-1-34-2 (1w), D Vettori 10-0-42-0, J Patel 8-0-58-0 (1w), S Styris 4-0-18-0.
New Zealand
J How c Haddin b Lee 2
B McCullum c Haddin b Lee 6
M Sinclair lbw b Hopes 14
S Styris b Lee 75
R Taylor lbw b Tait 13
J Oram c Lee b Hopes 2
G Hopkins c Clarke b Hogg 9
D Vettori c Haddin b Hogg 0
K Mills b Tait 7
M Gillespie c Symonds b Hogg 24
J Patel not out 1
Extras (4lb, 2nb, 9w) 15
Total (34 overs) 168
Fall: 7 (McCullum), 8 (How), 43 (Sinclair), 60 (Taylor), 72 (Oram), 88 (Hopkins), 88 (Vettori), 118 (Mills), 158 (Styris), 168 (Gillespie).
Bowling: B Lee 9-0-47-3 (2nb), N Bracken 5-0-21-0, S Tait 8-1-30-2 (7w), J Hopes 6-0-17-2, B Hogg 6-1-49-3 (2w).
Result: Australia won by 114 runs, won series 2-0.
- NZPA
